Infrared thermal imaging instruments commonly are used for obtaining temperature profiles of objects such as industrial machines or components of operating equipment. Inspecting an object's operating temperature conditions can reveal whether a failure is imminent or a machinery adjustment is necessary. Portable imagers are particularly useful for inspecting a series of machines along a route in, for example, a factory.
Conventionally, a user of a portable imager would need to memorize and subsequently recall a series of locations at which certain components can be found for imaging. To improve the usability of an imager, an imager can be programmed to store a predefined route and prompt the user to proceed to the defined stops along the route.
Some known systems provide a base computer at which a user can define a route that subsequently can be transferred to a portable imaging system. Typically, however, such systems are unintuitive and difficult to use. Furthermore, while these systems may present the user with the name of the next component to be imaged, no other instruction or indication is provided to assist the user in successfully identifying the appropriate components along the route.